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Letter from DSS to Oversight Subcommittee

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Letter from DSS to Oversight Subcommittee January 8, 2016 VIA E-MAIL and U.S. MAIL The Honorable Nathan Ballentine Subcommittee Chairman Legislative Oversight Committee South Carolina House of Representatives Post Office Box 11867 Columbia, South Carolina 29211 Dear Chairman Ballentine: Thank you for providing me the opportunity to present to the Healthcare Subcommittee on November 23, 2015. This is to provide the follow up information that DSS was to provide the Subcommittee. Interim Report of Caseload Allocation and Formal methodology for caseload distribution and allocation of staff. The agency is negotiating the terms of a class action lawsuit in an effort to reach settlement of the lawsuit without litigation. The agency has agreed and the federal court has ordered the agency to work with the appointed federal court monitors to design, conduct, and complete a workload study. This work with the monitors in in progress. At the completion of the study, and with the agreement of the monitors, the agency must adopt limits for its work force. The study and the setting of workload limits is due for completion at the end of March 2016. Results and analysis of the employee satisfaction survey developed by USC. See enclosed Employee Satisfaction Survey Summary Reports. New Agency wide strategic plan. This plan will be completed and submitted by January 27, 2016. The Honorable Nathan Ballentine January 8, 2016 Page 2 Feedback from the entities you were contacting regarding the agency’s law recommendation item number 7 (Child Fatality Review Committee). DSS meets regularly with the representatives of the State Child Fatality Advisory Committee and others who are impacted by Proviso 38.29. The group is working to establish the local child fatality review process Proviso 38.29 anticipates. DSS shared with this workgroup a draft statute that proposes to codify the proviso. Because the workgroup is still in the early stages of implementation under the current proviso, the consensus is that it would be premature to enact a statute codifying a local child fatality review process. Thus, SCDSS recommends statutory enactment be delayed and that Proviso 38.29 be extended for at least an additional year. Any information related to the agency’s investigation into the allegations regarding the Spartanburg County office, including, but not limited to, actions taken to investigate, findings made, and actions taken as a result of the findings. The Spartanburg County DSS received 21 comments in the Public Survey, some of which raised allegations of nepotism and of an employee being hired into a position for which he was not qualified. After an investigation by the SCDSS Office of Human Resources, these allegations were deemed to be unfounded. The employee named in the complaint is related by marriage to another employee in the county. That employee did not have input into, nor was she consulted, relative to his hire or recent promotion. They are in separate chains of command in the office reporting to different supervisors. The employee named as being unqualified for a supervisory job met the qualifications of the job. While he did not have long-term DSS experience, he did have supervisory experience in the public sector. Other comments from the Public Survey contained complaints about poor supervisor/management conduct, dress code issues, misuse of office space and children being brought to work. After the comments were published, the DSS Spartanburg County Director requested assistance from the SCDSS Office of Human Resources in June 2015 in addressing the complaints. Staff from the SCDSS Office of Human Resources provided training to Supervisors in the county on DSS Policies and Procedures, focusing on disciplinary actions and professional conduct. Use of office space for working out was discontinued and all employees were advised to follow the agency’s dress code policy. Employees and Supervisors were reminded that bringing children to work in lieu of taking leave or making childcare arrangements was prohibited. Updated language regarding the potential negative impact level, specific for each program, at which the agency believes the General Assembly should be put on notice so the General Assembly can take some action to help prevent the situation from becoming a crisis (update this information in the Program Evaluation Report and send the entire Program Evaluation Report. See enclosed Report. The Honorable Nathan Ballentine January 8, 2016 Page 3 If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact me directly at (803) 898-0585 or [email protected]. Sincerely, Signature Redacted V. Susan Alford State Director VSA:ms Enclosures cc: The Honorable Wm. Weston J. Newton The Honorable Mia S. McLeod The Honorable Walton J. McLeod The Honorable Bill Taylor Employee Satisfaction Survey Summary Reports The South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) conducted an Employee Satisfaction Survey of all staff from November 2 - 9, 2015. A total of 1,628 employees completed all or part of the survey. The survey was developed by DSS State Director Susan Alford with support from the Center for Child and Family Studies at the University of South Carolina and a committee of DSS county staff. Questions were based on surveys successfully conducted by other state social services agencies. The DSS Survey Committee suggested additional questions and provided input on all of the survey questions. A draft survey was forwarded to the State Director for final approval. The survey had three sections: Social and Physical Work Environment, Supervisor Relationship, and Overall Agency Satisfaction. Employees were asked to rate statements in each area. Additional comments were solicited at the end of each section. Several demographic questions were included at the end of the survey in an effort to learn more about who completed the survey. At least a few staff from each county completed the survey. Richland County had the largest number of participating staff. Nine percent of the respondents did not answer the question on gender. Of those who did respond, 87% were females. Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 70 years old. The median age was 26. More 40-year-olds completed the survey than any other age group. Social and Physical Work Environment The highest ratings here were in the social areas. Employees believed they had good working relationships with their co-workers (87%). They also believed their co-workers were committed to doing quality work (75%). Two-thirds of the employees believed they had a sense of teamwork on the job (67%). Over half of the employees (59%) responding to this survey agreed with the statement, The physical environment is adequately equipped to support all job functions. Half of the employees indicated they often experienced stress in the workplace. Social and Physical Work Environment (Agree–Strongly Agree) I have a good working relationship with my co-workers. My co-workers are committed to doing quality work. The office environment is conducive to getting work done. I experience a sense of teamwork at work. Employees treat each other with respect in the workplace. The physical environment of the office is adequately equipped to support all job functions. Stress (Often – Very Often) How often do you experience stress in your work environment? SC DSS Employee Satisfaction Survey page 1 01/07/16 Participants were asked to provide additional feedback regarding building a better workplace environment. The comments were grouped into categories. The largest percentage of comments focused on the physical building. Some praised new buildings provided by their counties. Others focused on the need for improvements. Workplace Environment Comment Categories Need for Physical Building Improvement 13% Management Issues 22% Equipment and Technology Issues 20% High Workloads and Staffing Issues 17% Pay/Incentive/Benefits/Training Issues 11% Collaboration, Morale, and Team 9% Building Issues 8% Other Issues and Concerns One comment represents much of what the employees expressed. Additional examples of comments are included in Appendix 1. Provide adequate space for work with protections in place to uphold HIPPA standards. The county building in which I am housed is filled with mold, strange odors, and is constantly under construction because repairs are not done correctly the first time. I fear that constant displacement not only makes me less productive, but it puts confidential client information at risk. Additionally, upgrades need to be made to technology so copiers/scanners/fax machines are not down the majority of the time (which they are now). Supervisor Relationship Most of the employees responding to statements regarding their relationships to their supervisors agreed that they were, overall, satisfied with their supervisors (77%). These employees also generally agreed (89%) that they were not supervised too much at work; that their supervisors (83%) respected their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and treated them with respect; and that they had a good relationship with their supervisors (83%). Employees also generally believed they were able to make decisions affecting their work (82%). A majority of employees also agreed that their supervisors had realistic work expectations (76%); that their supervisors were consistent and fair with employees and promptly responded and followed through on their concerns (72%); and that work assignments were distributed fairly (69%). Well over half of the DSS employees responding to the survey felt encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to grow professionally (61%), and just over half (51%) believed that DSS recognized strong SC DSS Employee Satisfaction Survey page 2 01/07/16 job performance by employees. In interactions with their supervisors, many employees (61%) believed they were often encouraged to share concerns or ideas, and just over half (51%) believed their supervisors often recognized employees for good work. Supervisor Relationship (Agree – Strongly Agree) I believe that I am supervised too much at work. I respect my supervisor’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. I am treated with respect by my supervisor.
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